1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a variable-speed moving walkway.
2. Description of the Related Art
Moving walkways, suitable for conveying passengers continuously, are installed in various places such as railway stations and airport terminals. Moving walkways are also used at other public facilities for the movement of pedestrians such as stadium concourses, connecting walkways, and indoor and outdoor sports facilities. Such moving walkways are divide a into pallet and belt types depending on the structure of tread boards. Furthermore, the belt type moving walkways include those in which the length of the belt is supported on each side by rollers (the roller support type), and those in which the entire lower surface of the belt is supported by planar members (the flat-plate support type).
FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a belt-type moving walkway. With reference to FIG. 1, a moving walkway 1 of the roller support type includes a belt drive pulley 1a, a belt extending pulley 1b, a belt drive unit 1c, a moving handrail side panel 3, moving handrails 4, a belt 5, a return belt 5a, belt support rollers 7, and return belt support rollers 9. The endless tread board belt 5 is wound around the belt drive pulley 1a and the belt extending pulley 1b. The length of the belt 5 is supported on both sides by support rollers 7. Rotation of the belt drive pulley 1a drives the upper surface of the endless tread board belt 5 in the direction of movement of the moving walkway. At the same time the return belt 5a moves in the opposite direction. The belt extending pulley 1b is pushed away from the belt drive pulley 1a to prevent any slack in the belt. In addition, the moving handrail 4 is set to move along the upper surface of the moving handrail side panel 3 in phase with the belt 5.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, illustrating its center part. With reference to FIG. 2. reference numeral 2 denotes a frame of the moving walkway 1, 6 denotes skirt panels, and 8 denotes lateral guide rollers for the moving walkway 1. Between the belt 5 and the skirt panel 6 a space is provided to allow the belt 5 to rotate. A number of lateral guide rollers 8, in contact with both edges of the belt 5, are set to guide the belt 5 to prevent sideways movement of the belt. Incidentally, the main structure described above is the same for the flat plate support type moving walkway. As described above, the moving walkway has advantages in that it has a comparatively simple structure, it is easy to maintain, and it can be installed on a horizontal or inclined surface,
In the prior-art the moving walkway operates at normal speeds of 30 to 40 m/min, This is to enable users to safely board and alight. However, this is only an operational speed of 1.8 to 2.4 km/h. Also, the design of the moving walkway only allows the same speed across the intermediate and entrance sections. This raised the problem that the speed of the moving walkway was less than the actual speed of walking. Consequently it would take a greater time for passengers to travel a certain distance on the walkway in comparison to walking the same distance. For this reason, a moving walkway which allows users to board and alight at low speed, at the entry and exit sections, and which moves the users at high speeds is desirable.
The present invention was developed to satisfy such a desire. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a variable-speed moving walkway which has a low speed across the entry and exit sections, and a high speed across the intermediate section.
The present invention provides a variable-speed moving walkway which includes an array of support rollers 10 with a plurality of horizontal drive rollers 11. The horizontal drive rollers 11 are arranged so that their upper surfaces are flush with each other and so that they can be rotated about their axial centers. In addition, the walkway has an endless belt 16, supported by the array of support rollers, which rotates continuously. The support rollers of the variable-speed moving walkway are composed of an array of accelerating rollers 12, an array of high-speed rollers 13, and an array of decelerating rollers 14. These rollers allow the rotational speed of the horizontal drive rollers to gradually increase from a low speed, to remain at a constant high speed, and then to gradually decrease to a low speed. The endless belt is extended or retracted in the direction of movement in response to the rotational speed of the horizontal drive rollers.
This configuration makes it possible to have a low speed at the entry and exit sections, and ensures a high level of safety. Safety is ensured by allowing passengers to board the endless belt 16 at the low speed side of the array of accelerating rollers 12, across which the rotational speed gradually increases, and by allowing passengers to alight from the endless belt 16 at the low speed side of the array of decelerating rollers 14, across which the rotational speed gradually decreases.
In addition, the endless belt 16 that moves at a high speed together with the array of high-speed rollers 13 can convey passenger several times (e.g., two to three times) faster than the moving walkway described in the prior art, except in the entry and exit sections. This makes the high speed transportation of passengers possible. Furthermore, the passenger boards the endless belt 16 and cannot directly board the array of support rollers 10. In this way it is possible to prevent the passenger from being caught in between a plurality of horizontal drive rollers 11 so alleviating the uncomfortable footing caused by the projected and recessed parts of the rollers.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the endless belt 16 includes elastic members 16a for extending or retracting in the direction of movement in response to the rotational speed of horizontal drive rollers. The endless belt 16 also includes rigid members 16b for preventing the elastic members from extending or retracting in a widthwise direction. The endless belt is readily extendable and retractable in the direction of movement but barely extendable and retractable in the widthwise direction. While rigid members 16b prevent extension and retraction in a widthwise direction, this configuration allows the elastic members 16a to extend and retract. In this way the uncomfortable feeling caused by variations in speed can be alleviated.
Furthermore, it is preferable an array of accelerating rollers, an array of high-speed rollers, and an array of decelerating rollers are arranged in that order, and a passenger boards an endless belt on the array of accelerating rollers, moves on the endless belt on the array of high-speed rollers, and then alights from the endless belt on the array of decelerating rollers. This configuration allows the passenger to board the array of accelerating rollers in the low-speed section, move on the array of high-speed rollers at a high speed, and then alight from the array of decelerating rollers at the low-speed section. This makes it possible to simultaneously provide safety at the entry and exit sections, and the high speed transportation of passengers.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the variable-speed moving walkway comprises the following: an entry side drive pulley 17a, provided at a boarding side edge part of the array of accelerating rollers and rotated at the same speed as that of the horizontal drive rollers at the boarding side edge part; an exit side drive pulley 17b, provided at an alighting side edge part of the array of decelerating rollers and rotated at the same speed as that of the horizontal drive rollers at the alighting side edge part; a pair of sustain rollers 18 to be rotated freely being pressed with a predetermined pressure by the entry and exit side drive pulleys. It is also preferable that the endless belt, while being sandwiched by the drive pulleys and the sustain rollers, rotates continuously between the entry and exit side drive pulleys. This configuration allows the endless belt 16 to be uniformly extended and retracted in the direction of movement by means of the drive pulleys 17a and 17b, thereby making it possible to reduce the fatigue of the endless belt and increase its longevity.
The horizontal drive rollers 11 have a plurality of increased-diameter parts 11a and a plurality of reduced-diameter parts 11b, arranged alternately in their axial directions. The increased-diameter part 11a has a larger diameter than a distance between axial centers of adjacent rollers and the reduced-diameter part 11b has a smaller diameter. In addition, the increased-diameter parts and the reduced-diameter parts of adjacent rollers are alternately arranged in the direction of movement. This configuration makes it possible to minimize the recesses formed between the upper surfaces of the rollers and thereby alleviates the uncomfortable footing caused by projected and recessed parts of the rollers.